Since ASH Berlin is currently closed and all International Office staff are working from home, we cannot offer our usual face-to-face office hours. Instead, we kindly ask all exchange students and partner universities to contact us via e-mail to incoming@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu.

For summer term 2020 exchange students, our counselling hours are going digital! Every Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm - 6pm, we're offering online counselling via Adobe Connect. Students have already received the URL to enter our online counselling room. Beforehand, you must download the Adobe Connect meeting application, here's a step-by-step manual about how to do so. On individual demand, we're also able to offer individual counselling via Skype, Zoom or DFNconf.

For all other students, we're available via e-mail to incoming@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu. On demand, we're also able to offer individual counselling via Skype, Zoom or DFNconf, please e-mail us if you wish to schedule an appointment.

Exchange during summer term 2020

The teaching period of the summer term 2020 started on 20th of April 2020 and all courses take place in online formats as far as possible.

We will continue to regularly update all summer term 2020 students via e-mail and live online webinars in case there is new information. We're also offering online counselling every Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm - 6pm via Adobe Connect. Students already received instructions and the URL to enter our online counselling room.

FAQ

The teaching period of the summer term 2020 started on 20th of April 2020 and all courses take place in online formats as far as possible. All students have already been informed via e-mail and our online orientation webinars about how to sign up for courses. You will find detailed and updated information about courses and about how to sign up (and by when you need to sign up), on our website Studying at ASH Berlin.

Updated information about bureaucratic things to do after arrival in Berlin (e.g. concerning Bürgeramt registration or the residence permit) on our website After arrival in Berlin.

According to the ordinance, people are required to reduce physical social contact with other people to an absolute minimum, maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 m to others (whereever possible). You are allowed to leave your home, but when meeting with people who don't belong to your household, you need to maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 m. On meadows, in parks and open spaces, a minimum distance of 5 m to others must be maintained.

You are required to wear a textile covering for mouth and nose on public transport, public transport stations and (amongst others) in shops and stores. This can be a mask, a self-made covering or a scarf.

Which shops and institutions are open? Currently, all retail shops and stores, incl. supermarkets, hardware stores, book and newspaper stores, banks, pharmacies, hairdressers as well as restaurants are allowed to be open, but may have restrictions as to how many people are allowed inside at the same time. The same applies to museums, memorials and similar cultural institutions. Public libraries are allowed to open for lending out books. The Botanical Garden, the Zoo and the Tierpark are allowed to open their outside areas, but may restrict opening hours and the number of visitors. Public and open air baths and swimming pools, open air cinemas and drive-in cinemas, theatres and cultural institutions, gyms and yoga studios as well as bars are allowed to open, but may also restrict opening hours and numbers of customers and guests.

Cinemas are allowed to open from 30th of June onwards. Spas, saunas and in-door clubs remain closed.

When leaving home, we recommend having your ID / passport with you, along with either your Bürgeramt registration or a copy of your rental contract, in case you're being checked and need to prove your Berlin address.

The teaching period of the summer term 2020 will end (as originally scheduled) on 18th of July 2020, it will not be extended.

Students who are in Berlin:

Exchange students who have already been enrolled at ASH Berlin during winter term 2019/20may continue using their winter term semester tickets until 30th of June 2020 if you also have a (printed!) confirmation of enrolment for the summer term 2020 with you. You can download a confirmation of enrolment from the LSF portal. After logging in on LSF, click on "Meine Funktionen" > "Studiumsverwaltung" > "Studienbescheinigung" (see screenshot below) and print it in its original size on white paper.

Newly enrolled exchange students for the summer term 2020 may download and print (!) a confirmation of enrolment from the LSF portal and use this - in combination with their ID or passport - as a public transport ticket from 1st of April until 31st of May 2020. After logging in on LSF, click on "Meine Funktionen" > "Studiumsverwaltung" > "Studienbescheinigung" (see screenshot below) and print it in its original size on white paper.

All exchange students in Berlin will receive or have already received their original summer term semester ticket via mail from us anyway, provided they paid the semester ticket fees, sent us their current address and have shown valid health insurance. The original semester ticket is valid until 30th of September 2020. Remember that the semester ticket must be signed by you and that it's only valid in combination with your national ID or passport.

Students who are NOT in Berlin due to travel restrictions:

Exchange students who are not in Berlindue to travel restrictions should contact us for a refund. For more details, students should consult our info e-mail from 24th of April 2020.

Whether or not you will be able to start and continue your internship lies within the responsibility and regulations of the internship institution. They might also be subject to directives from the Berlin government and/or the local public health authority, so please contact your internship mentor about it. If you cannot continue your internship, please inform us and contact your home university to ask about alternatives.

Quarantine measures for people arriving in Berlin:

According to part 6 of the ordinance the Senate of Berlin on stemming the spread of the Corona virus SARS-CoV-2, people arriving in Berlin via airway, seaway or landway (EXCEPT for people coming from countries of the European Union as well as from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein) must stay in domestic quarantine for two weeks and inform the Berlin public health authority of the district in which you live that you have arrived in Berlin (if you're not sure in which district you live, enter your postal code in the search tool of the German Institute for Public Health, it will then show the contact details of your local Berlin public health authority). You are not allowed to receive any visitors from outside your household during the time of domestic quarantine. If you are arriving in Berlin from countries for which the German Institute for Public Health (Robert Koch Institut) has established that the incidence of infections there makes the risk of infection for the individual seem low, you are exempt from the domestic quarantine order.

People coming from countries of the European Union as well as from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein may ALSO be affected by the domestic quarantine order if their country has seen a total number of newly infected cases of more than 50 per 100,000 inhabitants within the last seven days. You can easily check that on the website of the German Institute of Public Health (Robert Koch Institut). If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, you must stay in domestic quarantine for two weeks and inform the Berlin public health authority of the district in which you live that you have arrived in Berlin (if you're not sure in which district you live, enter your postal code in the search tool of the German Institute for Public Health, it will then show the contact details of your local Berlin public health authority). You are not allowed to receive any visitors from outside your household during the time of domestic quarantine.

Exchange during winter term 2020/21

We are happy to receive nominations from our partner universities for the winter term 2020-21. Please kindly consult the FAQs below before contacting us. If you have any questions, we're available via e-mail to incoming@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu. On demand, we also offer individual counselling via Skype, Zoom or DFNconf, please e-mail us if you wish to schedule an appointment.

FAQ

The winter term will run from 1st of October 2020 until 20th of February 2021 (incl. exams). Only first semester level courses will start on 2nd of November 2020.

The winter term 2020-21 will mainly consist of online-based courses. Only courses which compellingly require face-to-face teaching and learning may probably be offered as presence-based courses. At the moment, we do not have an overview yet as to which exact courses will be offered online or and which courses may be offered face-to-face. Short-notice changes to fully online-based courses may be necessary, depending on the current situation.

All nominated exchange students already received the link to our online application portal. As mentioned on our website about the application procedures and deadlines, the deadline to apply will be extended to 12th of July 2020 to give you enough time to complete the online application procedure and to observe the development of the Corona virus crisis and the situation in Germany.

Before starting your application, we strongly recommend that you to attend the preparatory online webinars live or to watch the recording (see FAQ below).

As soon as students have attended our live webinar (or watched the recording, see below), they can start preparing their Learning Agreement (LA). The LA should be uploaded in our application portal (and it should be signed by you and your home university). If you don’t have it available by the time you’re doing the online application, you can also send the LA via e-mail to incoming@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu by no later than 12th of July 2020.

On 11th and 12th of June 2020, 5.30pm - 7pm (local Berlin / German time), we will hold a mini series of preparatory live webinars via Adobe Connect to prepare you for your application, give you an overview of what the winter term 2021-21 may be like, inform you about courses, ECTS and exams etc. All nominated exchange students already received the link to enter the webinars via e-mail. If you cannot attend the webinars live, don’t worry, we will record the webinar and send you the link to access the recording afterwards.

The mandatory orientation period is currently scheduled to take place from 28th to 30th of September 2020 (date to be confirmed). Orientation may take place fully online via live webinars or partly face-to-face, depending on what is officially allowed by the Berlin government.

In the following weeks, we will also decide if and when the pre-semester intensive German course may take place (and if it takes place, if it will be taught fully online or face-to-face).

Whether or not you will be able to start and continue your internship in Berlin lies within the responsibility and regulations of the internship institution. They might also be subject to directives from the Berlin government and/or the local public health authority, so please contact your internship mentor about it.

Please do NOT book any flight or train tickets to Germany at the moment and WAIT with anything else that comes along with financial obligations (e.g. booking accommodation or buying health insurance).

For European students, we hope that travelling within the European Union will be possible before the start of the winter term without any restrictions again. At the moment, attending educational institutions that require in-person attendance (i.e. face-to-face learning) is listed as a valid reason to cross the EU’s internal borders, regardless of nationality.

For students from non-European countries, we also hope that by the time the winter term starts, the EU’s external borders will be open for students who attend educational institutions that require in-person attendance (i.e. face-to-face learning). Remember that you may need to get a visa to enter Germany beforehand, so please check whether the local German consulate or embassy in your country is currently open or if they might offer online applications for a visa.

Quarantine measures for people arriving in Berlin:

Currently, there are quarantine measures in effect for people arriving in Berlin. This may have changed by the time that you are planning to arrive in Berlin, so it's important to check this FAQ for the most current quarantine measures. The current regulations are as follows:

According to part 6 of the ordinance the Senate of Berlin on stemming the spread of the Corona virus SARS-CoV-2, people arriving in Berlin via airway, seaway or landway (EXCEPT for people coming from countries of the European Union as well as from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein) must stay in domestic quarantine for two weeks and inform the Berlin public health authority of the district in which you live that you have arrived in Berlin (if you're not sure in which district you live, enter your postal code in the search tool of the German Institute for Public Health, it will then show the contact details of your local Berlin public health authority). You are not allowed to receive any visitors from outside your household during the time of domestic quarantine. If you are arriving in Berlin from countries for which the German Institute for Public Health (Robert Koch Institut) has established that the incidence of infections there makes the risk of infection for the individual seem low, you are exempt from the domestic quarantine order.

People coming from countries of the European Union as well as from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein may ALSO be affected by the domestic quarantine order if their country has seen a total number of newly infected cases of more than 50 per 100,000 inhabitants within the last seven days. You can easily check that on the website of the German Institute of Public Health (Robert Koch Institut). If there are more than 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, you must stay in domestic quarantine for two weeks and inform the Berlin public health authority of the district in which you live that you have arrived in Berlin (if you're not sure in which district you live, enter your postal code in the search tool of the German Institute for Public Health, it will then show the contact details of your local Berlin public health authority). You are not allowed to receive any visitors from outside your household during the time of domestic quarantine.

According to the ordinance, people are required to reduce physical social contact with other people to an absolute minimum, maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 m to others (whereever possible). You are allowed to leave your home, but when meeting with people who don't belong to your household, you need to maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 m. On meadows, in parks and open spaces, a minimum distance of 5 m to others must be maintained.

You are required to wear a textile covering for mouth and nose on public transport, public transport stations and (amongst others) in shops and stores. This can be a mask, a self-made covering or a scarf.

Which shops and institutions are open? Currently, all retail shops and stores, incl. supermarkets, hardware stores, book and newspaper stores, banks, pharmacies, hairdressers as well as restaurants are allowed to be open, but may have restrictions as to how many people are allowed inside at the same time. The same applies to museums, memorials and similar cultural institutions. Public libraries are allowed to open for lending out books. The Botanical Garden, the Zoo and the Tierpark are allowed to open their outside areas, but may restrict opening hours and the number of visitors. Public and open air baths and swimming pools, open air cinemas and drive-in cinemas, theatres and cultural institutions, gyms and yoga studios as well as bars are allowed to open, but may also restrict opening hours and numbers of customers and guests.

Cinemas are allowed to open from 30th of June onwards. Spas, saunas and in-door clubs remain closed.

When leaving home, we recommend having your ID / passport with you, along with either your Bürgeramt registration or a copy of your rental contract, in case you're being checked and need to prove your Berlin address.

Exchange during summer term 2021

We are happy to receive nominations from our partner universities for the summer term 2021. Please kindly consult the FAQs below before contacting us. If you have any questions, we're available via e-mail to incoming@avoid-unrequested-mailsash-berlin.eu On demand, we also offer individual counselling via Skype, Zoom or DFNconf, please e-mail us if you wish to schedule an appointment.

We do not have any confirmed information about the summer term 2021 semester dates yet. However, we expect the summer term to run from beginning of April 2020 until mid July 2021. As soon as the semester dates have been confirmed, we will schedule the exact dates of the mandatory orientation period (probably end of March / beginning of April 2021) and decide if and when the pre-semester intensive German course may take place.

We hope the summer term 2021 to be a mostly presence-based semester with face-to-face courses or to consist of a mixture of both online and presence-based courses. Short-notice changes to fully online-based courses may be necessary, depending on the current situation.

The application portal for the summer term 2021 will open in September / October 2020. By that time, we will contact all nominated exchange students and update our website about how to apply. The deadline to apply is currently 15th of December 2020.